Week 1 – LCS NA Spring Split 2016

January 16th marks the first day of the North American League of Legends Championship Series (NA LCS) Season 6, starting off with the 1st week of the Spring Split. After a long break we’ll finally be introduced to the competing teams to see how well they can perform during their first 10 matches in 2016! There have been many changes over the pre-season so don’t forget to stop by and read about the new rosters and teams participating! You might also want to take a look at the changes that occurred in game, the introduction of new items and global objectives along with multiple champion changes may stir some confusion unless you’re clued up! Soon enough we’ll get to see how well the North American teams can perform and adapt to the new meta, welcome to Week 1 of the North American League of Legends Championship Series 2016 (Season 6)!

With every team playing each other twice over the course of the Spring Split there will be a total of 90 matches. The live stream broadcast for the matches should start at starting at 12:00 PST | 21:00 CET on both days however the starting times of the matches are estimations and can vary from the schedule due to unseen difficulties.

Betting Odds Comparison NA LCS 2016 Spring Split*

Please notice! Odds shown might have changed in the meantime. Follow the links to take a look at the current betting odds.

Preview and Predictions:

Follow the hype! We’re welcomed into the NA LCS with one of the most hyped up competitive games of the split, possibly, with the rivalry between CLG and TSM facing off in the very first game! We’ll be looking at the 2 most hyped up matches of day 1 of the NA LCS so we’ll also be taking a look at Renegades vs. Team Liquid, keep in mind that these predictions are mainly based off of the team’s individual player skill and are impacted in a minor way about their team cohesion and small team performances as there is a lack of performances so far, being the beginning of the season.

Week 1 | Day 1 – Match #1: TSM vs. CLG

Start Time: January 16, 12:00 PM PST/ 03:00 PM EST/ 09:00 PM CET

Team Solo Mid are coming into the season with a roster full of well-known names and a set of formidable players along with a strong coaching and analyst staff so since their small and shaky performance during IEM we can expect huge improvements and they’ll be facing off against CLG, who made multiple questionable decisions over the off-season, who’ll be needing to prove themselves in this game! Their track record against TSM doesn’t look too great but with their recent victory over them and taking the 1st seed from North America to the World Championship 2015 we can expect them to have put in the work to stay on top.

Team Solo Mid – Have you ever seen a more lovable team? Fan favourites fill their roster more-so than ever before. With one of, if not, the largest fan bases of any League of Legends competitive team there are going to be a lot of people ready to watch this game stir. TSM will have pressure on their shoulders but with a strong shot-caller in their new support YellowStar and other members of the team filling their previous weaknesses the teams of the NA LCS are going to need to find something else to exploit.

Counter Logic Gaming – Are they weaker than before? They’ve lost their consistent mid-laner and ego maniac Marksman but the players they’ve put in their places will fill the roles without bring any extra drama, avoiding internal issues and giving them time to practice and excel. One of their biggest issues throughout their entire history is a clashing of egos and with the dismissal of Doublelift a large portion of that is certainly gone, with the experience of the players and the organisation working together they should be able to fight for their first place once again.

In a situation like this, where one of the competing teams is built from new players, I’d normally explain how they’re at a disadvantage but the TSM roster has had time to work together minus YellowStar who faced Visa issues and couldn’t practice as much with the team. With this time they’ve made improvements from their showing at IEM where they weren’t using their starter support and shot-caller. They looked quite strong then, they’ll be even stronger now and CLG have a history of falling to that sort of pressure. CLG have removed their internal issues and I think they’re better for it, I expect them to put up a great fight but just how well will they perform against this powerhouse?

Look at each match-up for the lanes I think the game is in favour of TSM, a world class bottom lane paired with the strengths of their new jungler and their well-informed mid-laner, who had always been a shining member of the team, should be able to play comfortable against their counter-parts but for me the game really comes to how the jungles are handled. If we’re looking at jungle match-ups then factoring in the current meta and how well these players can potentially play I think TSM once again take an advantage only this time it could give them the game. Being able to funnel gold to the lanes of the team and propel them into a lead will be a priority for the TSM jungler Svenskeren and I have no doubt he’ll out-perform Xmithie.

We’re going to want to keep our eyes on early pressure, rotations, map control and how these teams handle the vision changes as they’ll be more susceptible to aggressive ganks.

Prediction: You might be able to tell from the preview but I’ll be predicting a TSM Victory for their first game of the season, some of the members may be less experience at playing together but they’ve had the time to build that cohesion and they’ve covered their weaknesses well. They’ll be one of the more difficult teams to overcome this season as they’re stacked with talent.

Week 1 | Day 1 – Match #4: Renegades vs. Team Liquid

I don’t know about you but I want to see Renegades step up! A roster full of experience, innovating genius and consistently strong performing players could be all they need but going against Team Liquid could be a challenge. Team Liquid were a top North American team closing out the end of Season 5 but it slowly slipped away as Cloud9 started their Cinderella story. Who will you be siding with this time around?

Team Liquid – A rough end to the last season left them not making it to the World Championship 2015 when they were just a short grasp away. They’ve picked up a new top-laner after the retirement of Quas and you’ll be seeing Lourlo make some moves, he’s a previous member of CLG Black who’s been reaching high for quite a while now. This will be his LCS debut and if TL have worked on the issues that they faced at the end of the last season we could be looking at 2 top teams of NA facing it out right now!

Renegades – European talent? Check, A first for the LCS? Check. LCS veterans? Check. This team is more than prepared to face off against the best teams in the region, they’ve got a phenomenal roster stacked with talent just waiting to shine and now is their chance! Swapping out their Marksman with Freeze, who was considered one of the strongest Marksman in the European region, could be the very thing that brings them success as the meta heavily favours marksmen. Let’s keep a close eye on their strong points and see if they leave any weakness clean open to be exploited; this is their moment to build for a top place in North America.

I really am unsure of where I would place an advantage in this match-up. Team Liquid are more experienced at playing together in a way but Renegades fought their way to the LCS through hard work and perseverance, both teams are clearly familiar with their team members but I think Renegades has better talent and more potential.

The bottom lane is going to be an important place in this match, both Piglet for Team Liquid and Freeze for Renegades are extremely skilled marksman that are favoured by the meta and with the assistance from their supports they could make huge things happen for their teams. I think the jungler match-up is pretty even possibly favouring Team Liquid slightly but the middle lane is probably where the excitement will roll from. Alex Ich is back in the LCS, although it’s North America this time, and he’s against an extremely well performing mid-laner so we’ll get to see just how well he’ll hold up.

One of the more difficult matches to predict but it’s going to be so exciting to watch! Exponential talent vs. talent, veterans vs. veterans and 2 possible top teams going head to head right at the beginning of the season!

Prediction: It was a tough choice but after the rough fall Team Liquid took last season and the internal issues they’ve faced I think it’s going to end with a Renegades Victory. Talent is stacked on both teams but I’m ready to see this team pull off something similar to what Origen did in the EU LCS in 2015. Keep an eye on them and watch them make their mark.

Week 1 | Day 2 – LCS NA 2016:

After an exciting first day in the NA LCS we’ll be covering the Team Liquid vs. Team Solo Mid game and the Echo Fox vs. Cloud9 games! But why these two games? Team Solo Mid is surrounded by hype, they may have lost their first game but there was constant tension and the fans loved the game! Hopefully they bring this same level of tension again. Team Liquid, in their game against Renegades, was able to consistently stall the match until they were comfortable taking fights! They may not have had the best objective control but we were all on the edge of our seats! Echo Fox had a good showing, they took their victory in a significantly quicker match in comparison to the other games of the day and Cloud9 will have Hai in the support role today! So let’s crack on!

Week 1 | Day 2 – Match #3: Team SoloMid vs. Team Liquid

Start Time: January 17, 02:00 PM PST/ 05:00 PM EST/ 11:00 PM CET

Both teams appear to be having a difficult time adapting to the earlier pressures of other teams, TSM fell to CLG’s early map movements and Team Liquid were set behind globally by the Renegades. If they’ve both stuck to a more late game strategy for this match then we could be looking at a long game.

Team Solo Mid – Quick reactions, methodical movements and great mechanical skill are what kept them in the game against CLG, they fell behind early and were in a sour position but managed to keep the game going, even threatening the match at times. If they can avoid some of the smaller mistakes and if Svenskeren, their jungler, can get a more aggressive early game jungler then I think they’ll make huge improvements.

Team Liquid – Their jungler IWillDominate took a more passive approach to his jungling in comparison to what the meta suits and what a lot of other junglers are doing. It’s not bad, he manages to cover his team and they made it to the late-game with some impressive control but they really need to apply more early-game pressure on either global objectives or on their opponents. They lost their first game because that pressure was nearly non-existent.

Both teams have been playing in quite a similar style; they’re neglecting the early game pressure that they could put out and favouring a more late-game style. Or so it seems, after they both played their first game. Making a comparison between both teams I think Team Solo Mid is more favoured because they did exert some pressure earlier in the game, they made a few mistakes that set them back but they kept applying pressure whenever it was possible and that’s what kept them in the game and made it so close. Team Liquid however only came close to taking the game after a detrimental failure from Renegades led to them being aced, Team Liquid handled the situation well and if they can do that against a TSM that isn’t applying the early pressure then they could take the victory. I’d like to see both of these junglers pick more early game champions to apply pressure to the lanes and get things rolling but we can only wait and see.

Team Solo Mid are going to need to watch out for TL getting Piglet rolling, he’s a mechanical monster and isn’t afraid to take those 1v1s where he can win solely on out-play potential. Team Liquid are going to want to keep Svenskeren in the jungle while pressuring Hauntzer in the top lane, shutting him down early will be a key part of pressure the earlier objectives. If they can funnel gold onto their bottom lane lane carry while slowing down the advances of the TSM top laner they should be able to take advantages that keep TSM behind. If TSM get a lead in the top lane I expect to see Team Liquid having a hard time, their bottom lane is stable and can often hold out even in the most difficult situations so TL can’t punish them too badly.

Prediction: Both teams play in a very similar way but I think that TSM can adapt to their opponents better in a late-game situation. Team Liquid should look to pressure earlier on in the game but I think TSM are going to out-do them in an early pressure game. TSM Victory, they’ll learn from their mistakes from going against CLG and pressure TL earlier in the game to push for quick advantages.

Week 1 | Day 2 – Match #4: Echo Fox vs. Cloud9

An upsetting game had Cloud9 defeated before the match had even reached 30mins, WildTurtle for Immortals went on an absolute steamroll and didn’t even give them a chance to come back. Cloud9 didn’t get to showcase much in their match but even-so they’ll be using Hai as their starting support for Day 2. Echo Fox vs. TIP was a much more relevant game to get information from, the Marksman of FOX got a nice lead and refused to let TiP come back, the game ended by 36mins and Echo Fox showed a great amount of control in dwindling out the resources of TiP.

Echo Fox – Extremely well played by them, advantages gained across the board and a really strong representation of their potential. If they can continue to put out such dominating performances with early pressure and control of their opponents then people are going to be surprised as to what they can accomplish.

Cloud9 – Terrified and unaccomplished. They were left on their fountain with nothing but grey scale screens and an underwhelming performance to show for it. Pressuring their opponents didn’t work and IMT managed to force them into terrible positions repeatedly to take the game. C9 are going to need to find a way to stall out the game if they’re stuck in a similar situation because they didn’t even get to contest the game here.

Echo Fox are coming into this game with a clear advantage, they won their first game and made it look fairly easy whereas C9 ran into a lot of trouble and took their first loss of the season. We all know that Cloud9 can make miracle come-backs but it’ll be tough to do with the oppressive hands of Echo Fox pressuring them. Cloud9 are going to need to improve their global pressure early, they need to stop Echo Fox taking an early need because from what we saw and what we can tell they can easily transition that into a larger lead and eventually the victory, which wouldn’t be good for Cloud9. They’ll want to slow down the early advances from the FOX jungler and keep the game as stable as possible until they can catch their opponents out. They’ve got the vision control; they just need the gold now.

Echo Fox are going to want to try and repeat what they did in their game against TiP. They made it look easy, they took a couple of hits but they were at such an advantage throughout the game. If they can force the early pressure and get Cloud9 into a bad position early they should be able to repeat the steps and force C9 into bad positions repeatedly to take more advantages globally and transition that into a victory.

Prediction: Echo Fox Victory. They’ve played much better in their first game, they showed their ability to pressure their opponents throughout every step of the game and Cloud9 are going to have a hard time even with Hai in the support position for C9 this game. Cloud9 are going to have a hard time, they’ve got a really got shot caller now so they could stall the game out to take it but I see Echo Fox forcing early advantages and pressuring too much.